Ah Choo! Allergies?
The beauty of spring brings joy to some of us and misery to others. While blooming flowers are beautiful and bring a sweet smell to the air, allergy sufferers often hide indoors and avoid spring like the plague. For allergy sufferers, spring means sneezing, stuffy noses, and puffy, watery eyes. Is there hope for allergy sufferers? Read on to find out…
What are allergies?
Allergies are an immune response. They immune system sees the allergen as an enemy and seeks to
eliminate it. The result is an inflammatory response (stuffy or runny nose, headache, rash, swelling).
Can allergies be reduced or eliminated? Absolutely!
Some allergies are so severe (like an anaphylactic allergy to peanuts), that they can never
successfully be completely eliminated. However, in most cases, the body can be trained to “accept” the
allergen as “friend” instead of “foe.” This can be done with environmental allergies, as well as food
allergies.
There are many methods for re-training the body to not overreact to natural substances. Acupuncture is what worked best for me. I had allergies all year round, as well as chronic seasonal allergies and many food sensitivities. Within a matter of months of having regular acupuncture treatments, many of my allergy symptoms disappeared. I also adopted an anti-inflammatory diet, which you can read more
about below. You can also explore homeopathy and herbal medicine to help re-balance your body.
How does food affect allergies overall?
Food can affect allergies in many ways. First, eating modern, processed foods can actually create food
intolerance because the body has to fight to process the unnatural ingredients. This fighting taxes the
immune system and can cause it to over or under-function. Second, people do not generally realize they are consuming foods they are sensitive to. Continually eating offending foods can create a clinical allergy and other food intolerance. You can take a simple blood test (called “IGG/IGE”) to determine any food sensitivities you may have. “US Biotek” is a quality laboratory who can perform the testing. However, the test must be ordered by a doctor.
It is also important to adopt an “anti-inflammatory” diet. Allergies are an inflammatory response.
Therefore, reducing inflammation is important. Be sure to consume lots of anti-inflammatory foods like
vegetables, especially leafy greens, beets, broccoli, and celery; fruits like berries and pineapple; seeds
like chia and flax; and plant-based proteins like walnuts. Fatty fish like salmon and mackerel are also
anti-inflammatory because of their high levels of Omega 3s.
Finally, avoid “inflammatory” foods like non-organic animals, red meat, pork, dairy, refined
carbohydrates (white bread, white rice, baked goods, hydrogenated oil, alcohol, processed foods, and
SUGAR. Please note that gluten is also highly inflammatory. If you have allergies, I highly recommend
avoiding gluten, as well as the foods mentioned above. Doing so will allow your body to calm down and
begin to heal.
Some people find making these changes difficult or perhaps even daunting. If you would like assistance with reducing or eliminating allergy symptoms, please feel free to contact me. I would be happy to work with you to incorporate changes in way that is fun and exciting!
